Relax, don't do last minute studies before CAT, say experts

Those taking the Common Admission Test (CAT) for entry to various business schools in the country Oct 11-Nov 6 are advised to relax and not indulge in too much last-minute studies, say experts.

The CAT is held every year for admission to 13 prestigious Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other premier business schools in the country.

"The candidates who have their exam in the next two-three days should not burn too much midnight oil," says Ulhas Vairagkar, director of T.I.M.E institute-Delhi, which conducts coaching classes for CAT exams.

"Those who have their exam in the coming week should do some more revision. Take mock tests and do a full analysis of the test," Vairagkar says.

Prashant Monga of the Alchemist institute in the capital suggests that "calmness" is the key to crack such exams.

"It is an IQ test and several questions demand thinking, so the students should remain calm. Go out for a movie... if you are really anxious," he says.

"If your test is later, practice on some sample questions, or the previous year's questions," he says.

The experts say candidates must carefully read the questions first before attempting them.

"Don't judge a question on its length, a long question may be easy. Take some time to read all the questions," says Vairagkar.

"Even if you spend a minute on each question, you will have enough time to solve all the questions. Don't spend more than three minutes to solve a question and attempt as many as you can," he says.

According to Monga, candidates should not try to solve all questions. "Based on previous exams, people who do 60 percent questions correctly can manage to get 99 percentile," he says.

"Chose the questions wisely. Attempt only those questions which you are sure you can solve. Otherwise, mark it and come back to it later," he says.

IIM-Kozhikode is convener of the CAT this year.

According to the premium B-school and Prometric, the software company which conducts the test online, the sale of vouchers and registration for the test have gone up by 4 percent to 215,000 this year as compared to 205,000 registrations in 2011.

The IIMs have also witnessed a marginal increase in the number of female candidates - from 27 percent in 2011 to 28 percent this year. There will be 61 test centres in 36 cities across the country.

The pattern of the test is going to be the same as last year with two sections - quantitative ability/data interpretation and verbal ability/logical reasoning - of 70 minutes duration each. Like last year, candidates cannot move between these sections.

"Candidates must bring their admit card and a valid and original photo ID. The list of approved IDs is available on the CAT website www.catiim.in.

"They should also check the maps on the CAT website, and plan appropriate travel time in order to arrive at their test centre at least one-and-a-half hour ahead of their scheduled test time," said Soumitra Roy, Managing Director, Prometric India.